


Revelation

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-04-02
Updated: 2005-04-02
Packaged: 2019-05-15 20:58:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14797838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: "CJ, can you tell us if you are pregnant? And if that is the reason that you are marrying Ron Butterfield, the head of the President's Secret Service detail?"





	Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Revelation

“CJ, CJ, CJ?”

She scans the room. She sees the new guy from the Herald and decides to welcome him with the first question.

“Yes, John.”

“CJ, can you tell us if you are pregnant?”

She stares at him. She starts to shake her head, but he sucker punches her with his follow up.

“And if that is the reason that you are marrying Ron Butterfield, the head of the President’s Secret Service detail?”

“I don’t... .”

“You filed papers for a marriage license three days ago, isn’t that correct?”

“I... the White House doesn’t... .”

“And you had an appointment with your OB/GYN four days prior to that.”

She can see it running away from her. Her control is gone. She can’t seem to figure out how to get it back on track. She knows she has to speak, but she has no idea what to say. She looks at the friendlier faces in the room, Katie, Mark, Steve, they all look surprised. No more than she is.

“The White House doesn’t comment on the personal lives of the staff.”

She breathes deeply and knows she has to get out of here. Now.

“I’ll be back to brief at one o’clock. Let’s try to have questions that relate to, I don’t know, the state of the government maybe, when we reconvene.”

And she walks quickly out of the room. She ignores Carol calling her name, trailing behind her. She avoids looking at anyone she passes. And she locks her office door behind her. She slumps on the couch and tries desperately to catch her breath. She’s fucked. And she knows it.

~*~

“Margaret, I’m gonna need those stats from the energy meeting before my two o’clock. And we need to get... . Margaret, are you listening to me at all?”

Leo pushes the folder out of his way and takes off his glasses. He looks up to see Margaret staring at the television set. He can see CJ’s still briefing.

“What?”

Margaret slowly turns, a look of confusion on her face. And possibly a bit of hurt as well.

“Leo, you would tell me if CJ was getting married right? I mean if she didn’t tell me herself. You wouldn’t keep something like that from me, would you?”

“What the hell? Margaret. What are you talking about?”

“CJ just got asked at the briefing if she was pregnant.”

“What?”

“And the reporter, he’s new, so I don’t know what his name is, but he said she had filed for a marriage license. She and Ron Butterfield.”

“Oh, holy hell. Get her in here as soon as she’s outta there.”

~*~

“Will, I swear to God. He’s not gonna go out there... .”

“You can yell at me all you want, but you know I’m right, Toby.”

“I know you’re delusional, if you think I’m gonna recommend anything you have to say to Leo, let alone to the President.”

Both men continue to stare at each other as Rena knocks sharply and opens the door.

“I’m sorry. I just thought you might want to, I didn’t know if you were... you should watch the briefing. Right now.”

Toby grabs the remote and raises the volume. His jaw becomes tighter as he watches the end of the briefing.

“I can’t... .”

“Shut up. And get out. I don’t wanna hear it. Go.”

Toby doesn’t bother to watch Will walk out the door. His eyes are fixed on the image of CJ leaving the briefing room.

“Rena, have Carol get her in here. Right now.”

~*~

“Donna! I need the thing. I have to get the numbers together before staff. Donna!”

But she’s not appearing in his doorway the way she should. The way he’s expecting. So, Josh gets up and heads to the bullpen. He sees her staring at one of the television sets.

“Didn’t you hear me... ?”

“Bellowing? Yes, I did. I ignored it. Now, hush.”

“Hush? What are we in the library now? What’s going on?”

“Shut up, Josh.”

And Donna points to the image on the screen. CJ’s fumbling something. He can tell by the way she looks down. By the fact that whatever answer she should be giving isn’t coming.

“You filed papers for a marriage license three days ago, isn’t that correct?”

“I... the White House doesn’t... .”

“And you had an appointment with your OB/GYN four days prior to that.”

“The hell? Donna, is she... they’re not... . The hell?”

And CJ’s leaving the podium. And Josh’s head is spinning. This can’t be happening. He turns to Donna.

“Okay. I’m gonna... .”

And he’s already walking away. Walking towards CJ’s office when he sees her. He stops suddenly as she slams her office door shut. He stops dead and turns abruptly. He doesn’t even notice when Donna tumbles into him.

“I’ll be in Toby’s office. Tell Carol we need her. Now.”

He ignores Donna’s comment about his cowardice. And heads for Toby.

~*~

“All I’m saying, Charlie, is that to truly understand philosophy, you have to start at the very beginning.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You can’t just read the Cliff’s Notes version of Plato.”

“Well Mr. President, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna have trouble reading the original version. Since I can’t read Ancient Greek.”

“We should do something about that.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Excuse me, Mr. President.”

He turns and sees that although Debbie is speaking to him, her eyes are trained on the television set. He can see that CJ’s at the podium in the briefing room.

“Yes?”

“Sir, you might want to come take a look at this.”

And he watches as CJ fails to answer the questions asked of her. Then, he hears the questions. Is it possible? That CJ, the woman he considers a fourth daughter, is pregnant? And she’s marrying Ron Butterfield? He waits until all he can see on the screen are reporters scrambling furiously and Carol rushing out the door.

“Get them in here now. All of them.”

He heads into the Oval and remembers that both people in question work for him.

“And get Ron Butterfield up here as well.”

“Already on it, Sir.”

And she is. She’s got an agent on the phone. And Charlie’s talking to Margaret.

He’s unsure what his role in this is supposed to be. Should he sit at his desk? The leader of the free world. Or should he sit in the chair, or the sofa? The friend he wishes he could be more of the time. He opts for the chair.

~*~

Margaret grabs the phone on his desk and answers. His mind is whirling. There’s just no way that this could be happening. CJ is the one who is always on top of things. She’s always the one fixing the mistakes. Not making them. Well, except for that one time. But, he knows now how much pressure she had been under. How much pressure he had put on her. His rambling thoughts are stopped by Margaret’s voice.

“Leo, the President wants you in the Oval.”

“Do you think he knows?”

“Yeah. That was Charlie. He said the President saw it.”

“Damn. Okay. Well, just do whatever it is you should be doing.”

“Leo?”

“I’m sayin’ don’t go looking for gossip. That’s the last thing we need right now.”

“I wouldn’t do anything... .”

“I know. I just... .”

“Yeah. Go on, Leo. He’s waiting.”

And he opens the door that connects the offices and goes to see the President.

~*~

He paces his office. He knows it’s not productive. But, he doesn’t know what else to do. He stops at his desk and grabs one of the pink rubber balls. He doesn’t throw it. He’s pretty sure that right now he would break something. So, he squeezes it. As hard as he can. He can’t let her see the tension, the anger. She wouldn’t understand his feelings of helplessness.

“Toby?”

He looks up and sees Josh. He motions towards the door and Josh shuts it.

“You saw?”

“Yeah. Donna was watching it in the bullpen. I told her to have Carol send CJ down here.”

And for the first time since he saw her leave the briefing, Toby allows a small smile.

“I told Rena to do the same thing.”

“It can’t be true. Can it, Toby? I mean we would know if CJ was getting married. We would know before a reporter.”

Toby can’t look him in the eye. He can’t lie to Josh about this. So he says nothing. He slumps into his chair as Josh almost drops himself onto the couch.

“Toby?”

“What?”

And Josh knows then that it’s true. And Toby knew it. And neither of them said anything to him. And his feelings are hurt. He can’t believe that after all they’ve been through together, that they wouldn’t tell him. Sure, Toby and CJ have known each other a lot longer than the rest of them. But, still.

“Never mind.”

And with those two words Toby knows how hurt Josh is. He knows that no matter what happens after this, Josh will always feel like the last kid picked for the pick-up baseball game. And he wishes he could explain. But, it’s not his place. They’ll both just have to wait for CJ.

But the door opens. And both men know that they won’t get a chance to speak to CJ first. Rena tells them that the President wants them. And they both know that he must have seen or heard. And so they slowly get up and head for the Oval. Toby looks over his shoulder to see if perhaps CJ is coming. Even though he knew she wouldn’t be right there. And he decides that he’ll risk her wrath. Because he won’t let her be bullied about this. And he sees Josh’s back straighten as he walks. And he knows that Josh has come to the same decision, despite his hurt feelings. Because, this is CJ, after all. The Wendy to their Lost Boys. And they would all do anything they had to do to protect her. Even if it means she’ll be knocking them around later.

~*~

She’s waited as long as she could. Which was a full minute and a half after the last phone call. She shakes her head and steels her courage. She would like nothing better than to just tell everybody to back off. She had said as much to Donna and Rena. But, she couldn’t say that to Debbie. So she takes a deep breath and she knocks on the door.

“CJ?”

She expected the silence.

“CJ? I’m sorry. But, the President wants you in the Oval. Now. CJ?”

And it’s a moment before she hears the click of the lock. And the door opens slowly. She isn’t sure what she’s expecting. But, she should have known better. CJ is standing in front of her. Dry-eyed, with not a hair out of place. Her back is straight and her head held high. She can’t help the rush of pride she feels looking at her boss.

“I’m surprised that it’s just the President.”

“Well, Donna and Rena called too. But, I... . Well, I told them you were busy.”

“That’s not really what you said, was it, Carol?”

“Not exactly.”

And she smiles right along with CJ.

“Okay. I guess I’m off to the lion’s den.”

And she watches CJ walk away. Not realizing she has her fingers crossed. And with no idea what she might be hoping for in the first place.

~*~

He had been stunned watching the briefing. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. What he was hearing. He had told her she was being ridiculous. He couldn’t imagine, even after all his years on the edge of politics, that someone would really pass along this kind of information. He was wrong. And if it didn’t hurt so much to watch her getting questions, he would smile. He should have known she was right. But now all he wants to do is slam that damn reporter up against a wall.

Seth knocks once on the door and opens it.

“Uh, Ron. The President would like to see you. I think, well, I think it might be about, um, the last briefing.”

“Yeah. It is.”

Ron just nods his head as he stands. He watches Seth scuttle out as quickly as is seemly. He knows the other agents are dying to know if it’s true. He knows that some know it must be. They’ve seen the number flash on the phone when he’s called in from her place. But, he can’t deal with that now. He has the President to face.

He heads for the Oval Office with his normal, professional gait. He won’t look ruffled, by even this. He just wishes he could see her first. For just a moment to make sure that she’s okay. But, like so many other things sacrificed for these jobs of theirs, it will just have to wait.

~*~

Jed watches each person carefully as they walk in. He thinks he’s a pretty good judge of character. And he prides himself on being able to read people. So he knows that Leo was just as taken aback at this as he was. He can see that it’s not a surprise to Toby. Not really. He knows that Josh has picked up that same vibe from Toby, and he is hurt. But, he can tell by the way the two men are holding themselves that they will take CJ’s side in all this. If there are sides to be taken. He still can’t quite believe it to be true. He sees Ron walk in and he’s disappointed, though not surprised, to see that he can’t tell anything about what Ron might be thinking. He does notice the small look that Ron and Toby share.

Everyone turns as CJ walks in. She looks calm. Jed can see her take a breath before stepping in front of him. She looks at none of the others. She keeps her eyes solely on him.

“You wanted to see me, Mr. President?”

“Yeah, CJ. Take a seat.”

She looks slightly uncomfortable at that. Jed wonders, not for the first time, if she uses her height as a shield when she feels attacked. He hopes she knows she won’t need it today. She sits down on the couch next to Toby. She still hasn’t let her eyes stray to Ron. It’s a tactical move that almost makes Jed proud.

“CJ, Ron, I think you both know why you’re here. I want the others here as well because, well, you’re going to have deal with this at the next briefing. It’s out there now. And I don’t think we can get away with a ‘no comment’, as much I would like to.”

Jed waits for a response. But neither CJ nor Ron seem inclined to give one. He’s surprised that Toby’s voice is his answer.

“Sir, I think we should stick with a ‘no comment’. That’s White House policy. We shouldn’t change the policy just because this time they’re asking questions about CJ.”

CJ squeezes his arm. And there is the briefest of smiles on her face.

“I think maybe, before we discuss our strategy, we should, uh, well, we should know what we’re dealing with here.”

Jed feels a small measure of relief that it is Leo who has asked the question. They both turn to face CJ, feeling that she’ll be the one to answer. Jed is surprised once again when it is Ron who speaks.

“We did file for a marriage license, Sir.”

Jed isn’t sure which is worse, the twitching in Toby’s neck or the slight slump of Josh’s shoulders. He’s sure that Leo is as surprised as he is right now. Jed can’t help his curiosity, he never could.

“You did? How long has this, this thing been going on?”

For the first time CJ looks at Ron. Their eyes meet. And it seems hard to believe that none of them haven’t noticed this connection until now. By unspoken agreement, CJ answers.

“We’ve been together about four years now.”

“How did we not know that?”

“We’ve been discreet. I knew what this would look like, what the press would do with this. And neither of us wanted this to get in the way of this administration. I’m sorry Mr. President that it has.”

“Four years?”

It’s the outburst he’s been waiting for from Josh.

“Josh, I’m sorry. It’s not that I didn’t trust you, or that I thought... . I was going to tell you. Just not this way.”

“You told Toby.”

Toby shifts uncomfortably and Jed is glad for Leo’s interruption.

“Guys, you can talk about this all you want later. Right now we need to discuss how we’re going to handle this. CJ, when are you due?”

At this Jed watches as Ron’s face gives way to emotion for a second, before slipping back to its impassive state. He’s sure now that the baby is news to Ron as well.

CJ shakes her head and gives a harsh chuckle.

“I’m not pregnant. I’m forty-two years old, Leo. Don’t you think it’s a bit late for that now?”

“I, well... I just... you’re not?”

“No. I did see my doctor last week. But, that was my yearly exam, the details of which I’m sure you’d rather not hear. But, I am most definitely not pregnant.”

And for the first time since she stepped into the room, Jed can see the Claudia Jean he knows. She’s back on her stride. And he’s sure the press are going to get quite a licking this afternoon.

It’s Josh that asks the obvious question.

“Then why are you getting married? I mean, why now? If it’s been four years, why not just wait? Or why haven’t you done it before?”

Once again CJ and Ron exchange silent glances. And it is agreed that Ron will field this.

“That would be my fault. I pushed CJ into doing it now.”

“You didn’t push me into anything.”

“It was my idea. I’m the one who didn’t want to wait.”

“And I agreed. I’m not someone who gets pushed into anything I don’t want to do.”

“Claudia.”

And for the first time any of the other men can remember, CJ stills. She doesn’t continue her argument. She simply waves her hand, indicating Ron to continue. Jed thinks it’s an amazing sight.

“I’ve wanted to marry CJ since almost our first date. But, we discussed it. And we both agreed that we should wait until you were out of office, Sir.”

He looks a bit nervous, Jed thinks, discussing his personal life. Especially in front of the others.

“But, when... . Well, Sir, when Agent O’Connor was killed, I did a lot of thinking.”

Jed is a bit reassured that he’s not the only one to tense at those words. It’s Leo that again saves him from having to speak.

“Well, that’s understandable. Things like that can make you focus on the important things in life. But, it’s been almost a year.”

“It took me that long to convince CJ.”

CJ, for her part, looks totally unapologetic. Her lowered voice doesn’t stop those in the room from hearing her comments.

“That’s because I still think you’re being ridiculous.”

“We’re not going through this again. Especially not here.”

CJ nods and then ducks her head. Jed thinks she just might finally be embarrassed about all this. He thinks she’s just as uncomfortable with this as Ron is. Until he realizes with Ron’s next words the real reason for her embarrassment.

“I could wait to marry her. I don’t think a marriage license will make that much difference for us, to be honest. But, I want to make sure that CJ’s taken care of if anything should happen to me.”

Jed is certain that only he and Toby could hear CJ’s whisper.

“Nothing will.”

“If I were to get killed, CJ wouldn’t be entitled to any death benefits unless she was my wife. And I refuse to let that happen. I hadn’t thought much about it until, well until I was doing the paperwork for Molly. So, you see, that’s why I wasn’t willing to wait. So, I’m the one to blame for all this.”

Jed watches as Ron straightens his shoulders even more.

“I’ll have my resignation on your desk in one hour, Sir.”

“No. You won’t. Nobody is resigning over this. There is no fault to find here.”

Josh speaks suddenly more forcefully than Jed had expected.

“We stick to the ‘no comment’. I mean, it’ll be pretty obvious soon enough that CJ’s not pregnant. And it’s nobody’s business if they’re getting married or not. It’s not a conflict of interest.”

CJ shakes her head, but smiles brightly at Josh.

“I’m gonna have to tell them I’m not pregnant. We don’t need speculation on this eating up the next news cycles. And I should probably give them an affirmative on the marriage license. If they have it, there’s no sense in hiding it. But, I’m not giving them any details. And there will absolutely be no joint press conference. That’ll just fuel the fire.”

The next few minutes are spent discussing what other stories they can use to distract from this. Jed watches Ron out of the corner of his eye. He’s pleased to see the smile that occasionally creeps in when CJ is speaking. He’s sure they’re gonna be just fine.

Leo seems satisfied with all the plans they have made. And Jed agrees, they have every base covered. Of course, it was much easier than they thought it would be, since CJ had most of the strategy already planned out. He’s about to ask his last question when Leo tries to dismiss them.

“If that’s everything... .”

“It’s not Leo.”

“Yes, Sir?”

“I was wondering about the wedding plans.”

He sees Toby shift again. And he’s sure that Toby already knows these plans as well. But, he loves CJ like a daughter. And he hasn’t been involved in wedding plans since Liz got married.

“Well, Sir, we, uh... well, we were just going to go to a Justice of the Peace.”

“CJ, you can’t be serious.”

“Yes, Mr. President. I am.”

“But, it’s your wedding day. You should have an orchestra and flowers. And a white dress.”

Jed ignores the snort from Josh. And he’s pleased to see that Toby, who is closer, gives him the smack that CJ surely would.

“Sir, we don’t want a big wedding.”

“Of course you do.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

Jed turns sharply at the tone of Ron’s voice.

“She knows exactly what she wants. And with all due respect, Sir, she’s going to have it exactly that way.”

If he hadn’t been sure of the love Ron felt for CJ before, he did now. There was a hard glint in his eyes. Jed just couldn’t understand how she wouldn’t want a lavish affair. Wasn’t that every woman’s dream?

“It’s okay, Ron. Mr. President, it’s just that, well, I can’t have the wedding I dreamed of as a little girl. My mother’s not here. And my father couldn’t come. Even if he did, he wouldn’t know what was going on. So, I would just rather have something small.”

“If you’re sure?”

“I am.”

“Well, you can at least have it here.”

He sees CJ sigh, though she has the good grace to try and hide it. And he realizes that it’s not his place. He isn’t her father after all.

“Or not.”

“It’s not that I, that we, don’t appreciate it. But, if we had it here, then we would have to invite people that we hadn’t planned on. When I said small, I meant, well, we had planned on only three other people.”

And Jed can’t help the “oh” that escapes. Or the disappointment he feels.

“Sir, I would like nothing more than for you to be there. But, if you were, then there would be press. And I don’t want the press at my wedding.”

“No, no. I understand. I really do.”

Josh, it seems, has recovered his wounded feelings. And the sulky tone of his voice is not missed by any in the room.

“Who are the three?”

“Huh?”

“You said there would only be three people at the wedding. Which three?”

“Ron’s sister. And Toby. And, well I haven’t asked the third person yet. But, I’m hoping he’ll come.”

Jed knows that Josh is the only one who doesn’t realize she’s talking about him.

“I was hoping you would stand up with me Josh. Be my, well, Man of Honor, I guess.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Man of Honor, huh? I like that. Sounds like I won an award or something.”

Leo steps in before Josh can get any further.

“I think we’re done here.”

Jed asks Ron and CJ to stay. He sees that the spring in Josh’s step is back. And Leo is shaking his head as he makes his way back to his office. Toby looks like he wants to say more, but lets it go. And he follows Josh out.

“I just wanted to offer you both my congratulations. And I really do understand why you wouldn’t want the President at your wedding.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

“Perhaps, you might think of having a small reception here. Maybe just a dinner for a few of the people who aren’t at the ceremony. I’ll understand if you say ‘no’. But the First Lady would kill me if I didn’t at least try. And the White House kitchen could prepare anything you wanted.”

“Thank you. We’ll definitely think about that, Sir.”

“Okay, go on. Get out of here. You both have jobs to do.”

Jed watches them walk out together, not too close, but together just the same. And he wonders again how any of them could have missed this for the last four years. Slowly bits and pieces of memories come to mind. He remembers the look on Ron’s face when he saw CJ walk into the Oval Office after the Press Room had been shot. And the smile CJ had on her face once when she met Air Force One to discuss something with him on the ride back, and Ron had been walking in front of him.

As he sits at his desk, he thinks that if he gets Abbey on the case, they just might be able to have that reception here after all. He smiles, and turns his attention to the file on his desk. He knows Debbie or Charlie will be coming in any moment with his next meeting.

~*~

As he steps back into his own office, Leo sees that Margaret is still standing in front of his desk. But, she’s placing several folders there. So, he realizes she’s probably just come back in.

“What are those?”

“The reports from Commerce and HUD, and the memo from the DOD.”

She doesn’t ask about CJ or the meeting. But, he’s known her a long time. And he knows that she won’t ask.

“She is getting married.”

“To Ron Butterfield?”

“Yeah. But, she’s not pregnant.”

“Well, they make a nice couple.”

“What? How would you... ?”

“Well, you can tell that there’s something there. I mean when they’re in a room together anyway.”

“Whatever you say, Margaret. I’m sure she was planning to tell you. I think she thought she had more time, that’s all. She’ll probably come see you at some point.”

Margaret brightens at this. And Leo makes a mental note to ask CJ to come talk to her.

“You need to be on the Hill in an hour. And you have the energy meeting after that. Do you want some lunch first?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

As Margaret walks out, he sits down and wonders how she could possibly have seen anything between them. And then he remembers seeing them in the Mess one night. And feeling almost uncomfortable that he had walked in on them. He shakes his head at the thought and opens the DOD memo. He has work to do.

~*~

Toby gets back to his office to see Will sitting on his sofa.

“What do you want now?”

“Well, I wanted to know what was going on with CJ.”

“In case the Vice President had to comment?”

“Well, yeah.”

“She’s getting married. She’s not pregnant. And everything else is none of your business. Now get out, I have real work to do.”

He knows that Will is about to protest, so he sits down and pulls the yellow legal pad in front of him. He uncaps a pen and starts writing. It doesn’t matter that it’s nonsense. It does the trick. Will sighs and leaves his office.

He puts the pen down and turns his chair to look at the window. He can’t help the small smile that appears under his beard. She hadn’t told the President that it was Toby whom she’d asked to give her away, even though it was understood that he wouldn’t really be performing that rite. But he had been pleased she had asked. And he had known about Ron for years. Had even gone to a baseball game with him. He was happy for his best friend. And silently relieved that she wouldn’t have this secret hanging over her. He knew that she would smooth things over with Josh. And that the press would get tired of the ‘no comments’ to come. He thought about telling Rena, but he knew she’d come in and ask sooner or later.

He turned his chair back around in time to see CJ and Ron walking past his office. He smiled again and picked up the pen once more. He had a few minutes, he could start on the toast now.

~*~

Josh practically bounced on his way back to his office. He was grinning like an idiot. He was still a bit upset that he hadn’t known until today about CJ and Ron. But, he was going to be the Man of Honor. And that had to count for something.

Donna was waiting for him at his desk. He knew she would be.

“Well?”

“They’re getting married, but she’s not pregnant. And I’m Man of Honor.”

“What?”

“At the wedding. CJ asked me to be Man of Honor.”

“You mean like the Maid of Honor, only ‘Man’ because it’s you?”

“Well... no. It’s not like that at all.”

“No, I think it’s really sweet, Josh. You’re her best girlfriend.”

“Don’t you have something you could be doing now?”

“Naw, this is more fun. Will you wear a tux or a pretty dress?”

Josh was saved by the knock on the doorframe. He looked up to see Ron walking by and CJ standing there.

“Congratulations. I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, Donna. I’m just sorry that I didn’t get the chance to tell you myself.”

“That’s okay. I understand.”

“Do you think I could talk to Josh for a minute?”

“Sure, I’ll leave you two girls alone.”

And with a giggle, Donna steps past CJ and is gone. CJ closes the door.

“Girls?”

“She’s making fun of me. The Man of Honor thing.”

“Ah. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“You’re not changing your mind, are you?”

“No. Of course not.”

And she steps closer to him. She reaches out and squeezes his arm.

“Josh, I’m so sorry that you had to find out this way. I was going to tell you. I just haven’t had a chance.”

He can’t keep the bitterness completely out of his voice.

“You’ve had four years, CJ. Four years.”

“I know. But, well, I don’t know. I was going to tell you a long time ago. You and Toby and Sam. But, well, I wasn’t ready at first. I wanted to be sure it would last. And then when I was, well, you were in the hospital. And then Donna wouldn’t let us see you that much. And I didn’t want to tell you then. It seemed, I don’t know, it seemed silly in comparison.”

“It would have been a good distraction.”

“I’m sorry. I really am. I was going to tell you later, but then there was that Christmas. And then after that, it just seemed like the right time had passed. And I didn’t know how to casually mention that I had been seeing Ron for over a year. But, I didn’t want to make it a big deal, like we had to have a meeting about it. And I just kind of let it go. And I was wrong, mi amore. I was wrong. And I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I can understand, I guess. Were you really going to ask me to stand up for you?”

“Of course I was. I couldn’t get married without you, Josh. It just wouldn’t seem right.”

And he knows that he’ll let go of whatever anger he still has fairly soon. Because this is CJ. And he loves her like a sister. Like he loves Joanie. And he knows that she really didn’t mean to hurt him, or exclude him. And he forgets sometimes how hard that time after Rosslyn was for those around him. He smiles a saucy grin and can’t help but take at least one shot.

“Well, if you had to choose someone besides me, I’m glad you at least went for someone taller than you.”

He winks and she smacks his arm. But, softly. And she’s smiling too.

“Well, you really are too short for me, Josh.”

“Ow, you wound me.”

She laughs and he feels like things are back to normal. Well, as normal as they can get with an engaged CJ.

“What are you doing after work?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“How about we go out for drinks? Or dinner? And you can bring Ron. I should probably get to know him better.”

She nods. And her eyes have become moist. So, he quirks another grin to lighten the moment.

“I gotta get to a meeting I think.”

“Okay. Come find me after work. But, I’m picking the place.”

“You always pick, CJ.”

“I know.”

And with that she’s opening his door, She stops and turns back to face him.

“We’re okay, right?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

She leaves and he hollers for Donna. He needs his notes for the agriculture meeting. And he wants to get out of there quickly. He has a dinner to look forward to tonight.

~*~

She comes back to her office. She sees that Carol is nowhere to be found and hopes that she’s bringing her back something for lunch. She closes the door and steps into his arms. She accepts the brief kiss and smiles.

“You were right.”

“I always am.”

“Not really. But, you know the press better than I do. Are you very mad at me?”

“No. I just wish we could have told everybody first. Especially Josh.”

“Is he okay?”

“He will be. We’re having dinner with him tonight.”

“Okay.”

She kisses his cheek and disentangles herself. She looks up into his eyes.

“You should probably get back to work. And I have to get my notes ready for the briefing.”

“Okay. Give me a call when you’re ready to go tonight.”

“I will.”

He’s at the door, but his hand rests on the knob. He turns and smiles once more.

“I love you, CJ.”

“I love you too, Ron.”

And she watches him walk down the hallway, before returning to her desk. She knows that some of the reporters won’t be satisfied with the answers she’ll be giving. But, she knows that most will understand that her marriage really isn’t all that newsworthy. At least, not for the nation.

She grabs the briefing book and smiles broadly when Carol comes in a few minutes later with a salad. She returns a call from the Post about the new education package. And she’s ready for the day to come.

The End  


End file.
